With the recent influx of refugees and asylum seekers across developed nations in Europe and the Americas, a very cool idea coming out of Italy:

“Three recent migrants from Mali and Gambia hit the runway at the Pitti Uomo menswear fair in Florence last week during a fashion show dedicated to promoting emerging talent in Africa. They weren’t just stunt casting, however. After the last model strode off the catwalk, Simone Cipriani, head of the International Trade Centre’s Ethical Fashion Initiative and the show’s co-organizer, took to the stage to announce the creation of a pilot program to train a group of 30 asylum seekers for employment in Italy’s textile and ready-to-wear industries, or, if and when they decide to return home, toward the establishment of their own businesses in their countries of origin.”

Every year, the focus on considering your carbon impact and considering the impact to your wallet, becomes increasingly important in an increasingly unstable world. Here are our ideas on simple things you can do to use your wardrobe to have a positive impact on the world:

1. Minimalism in your wardrobe: Less clothes, less impact, less clutter, less spend. Mixing Grey, Beige, Black, White in your wardrobe is a great way to do this.

2. Ring-fencing style: Go through style phases and choose a signature accessory for an entire season to save time and shop less

10. Sales do not mean sold: Great deals does not mean you have to purchase mediocre quality products. Ward of the temptation to constantly buy and focus more on purchasing products you actually want or need

“Do you actively avoid purchasing fast fashion made by tiny children in a dangerous, environment-polluting factory? Why, good on you, kind sir. But maybe don’t broadcast that fact to the nearest guy in Nikes.

According to a new study from Ohio State University, everyone is the worst and this is why we can’t have morally uncorrupt things. The study suggests that, while no one is seeking outclothing made in appalling conditions, those who don’t attempt to shop ethically often ridicule those who do make the effort, perceiving them as boring and fashion-challenged. This only serves to make willfully ignorant consumers even more nonchalant about ethical shopping in the future.

“It is this vicious cycle,” said Rebecca Walker Reczek, co-author of the study and associate professor of marketing at The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. “You choose not to find out if a product is made ethically. Then you harshly judge people who do consider ethical values when buying products. Then that makes you less ethical in the future.”

For this study, Reczek and her coworker Daniel Zane, a graduate student at Ohio State’s Fisher College, had 147 undergraduates evaluate four pairs of blue jeans with four differing attributes: style, wash, price, and an ethical issue. As expected, most of the students were only worried about style, wash, and price. But when asked to provide opinions on different types of consumers, those who were blasé about child labor or environmental concerns were also more likely to classify their conscious peers as “odd, boring, and less fashionable.”

“Willfully ignorant consumers put ethical shoppers down because of the threat they feel for not having done the right thing themselves,” Reczek said. “They feel bad and striking back at the ethical consumers makes themselves feel better.””

Project JUST, a new website launched in early December 2015, is a new website set to expose the underbelly of the mainstream fashion world. The website is a catalog and forum of research on fashion brands’ manufacturing M.O., their environmental effect and their social impact. In doing so, they provide and quick method for consumers to check how ethical their favourite fashion label’s manufacturing practices are.

In an industry where green-washing is all too common, the website provides a transparent view on otherwise shady supply chain. The website uses a four-step filter to weed through the public information available about fashion brands:

The first layer is self-reported information from sources, such as the brand’s site, their 10-Ks, executive speeches, and sustainability reports. This covers size and business model, transparency, labor conditions, environment, innovation, intention, management, and community

The next layer is information that other NGOs or on-the-ground organizations have published about that brand’s supply chain. This information includes any research or rankings comparing that brand to comparable ones on the market

The third layer is any media coverage and investigative reporting related to the brand and their manufacturing practices

Lastly, Project JUST gives the brand a chance to provide some honest input by reaching out to them for direct feedback

In doing so, the website seems to be aiming to separate the truth from the industry jargon and providing consumers with a clearer picture on the ethical and environmental impact of the fashion companies they are interested in.

A few years back, we set forth the following New Year’s resolutions in this blog post.

Learn about how the products you purchase are sourced

Consider buying sustainable fashion products that are made with eco-friendly materials, made under fair-trade conditions, or both

Stay fashionable: Look out for some interesting reports on 2013 fashion trends

Wear eco-friendly fabrics and ethically made accessories

Follow us on Twitter (@enablechange) and subscribe to our blog to get regular update on ethical fashion and gifts

Share the sustainable fashion movement with your friends buying ethically made and eco-friendly gifts for them and shopping for ethically made fashion

It’s remarkable to think about how much has changed since we first set these goals and how relevant they still are.

Our goals may evolve as we go through different phases of our lives, but the fundamentals hold true. At the end of the day, we should strive to be thoughtful people, who make little changes to make a big impact in the world.

Wishing you the best of luck in achieving your goals in 2016. Here’s to a year of joy, success, social consciousness and sustainability!

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The Bay & Harbour Blog

Bay & Harbour is the brainchild of a Toronto-based mother/daughter team with an eye for trend-setting, unique and high-quality fashion & lifestyle products.

The pair is inspired by different cultures, handicraft techniques, discrete designs, and fashion trends from their travels around the world. Bay & Harbour as their outlet to share that love of design with others.

The Bay & Harbour collections feature a variety of accessories & lifestyle products for both men & women.

The co-founders are passionate about fashion with a cause. Many of the Bay & Harbour collections also include pieces that are sustainable and / or ethically made.